1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatic fishing apparatus for holding an individual fishing rod which instantaneously jerks the rod upward when a fish exerts a pull on the line, thereby setting the hook in the mouth of the fish. More particularly, the invention relates to an electrically actuated fishing rod holder which has a wide scope of adjustment for use with various sized and weight fishing poles, and also has an extremely accurate and easy-to-use calibration mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The patent literature is replete with devices to assist the fisherman in automatically hooking a fish. Many of these devices comprise a rod-holding tube which is pulled against a spring to a cocked position and is held in place by a trigger catch. The action of the fish biting on the hook releases the trigger, and the spring jerks the rod back, engaging the hook in the mouth of the fish. A basic example of such a device is shown in Timmons, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,269, which also features an adjustable spring mount which permits variation of the tension on the spring which actuates the rod holder. Adjustment is achieved by sliding a carriage locking means which is attached to one end of the spring to any of a series of positions on the device. A similar device having dual springs also provides for a variable tension by moving the end of one of the springs to any of a plurality of different support locations; this apparatus is described in Titze, U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,651.
A number of other patents also show a spring actuated, rod holding tube having a biased trigger which is released by a pulling action on the rod. Many of these patents also show mechanical adjustments of the spring tension needed to move the rod from the cocked to the released position, and of the tension on the fish line required to release the trigger. Examples of these devices are disclosed in Wedel, U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,943; Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,041; DalBianco, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,055; Burke, U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,099; DeMino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,389; and Biddison, U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,875. Many of these devices also have means for alerting fisherman when the device is triggered, such as a light or buzzer.
An electrically actuated accessory for setting a hook is described in Ledbetter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,571,963. This device comprises a frame which holds the entire fishing rod from handle to tip having a solenoid actuated by a metal spring which is responsive to bending of the tip of the rod by a fish tugging on the line. The armature of the solenoids strikes the tip of the rod, moving the tip upwardly and setting the hook. Since the Ledbetter frame must carry an entire fishing rod, it is somewhat bulky and not easily portable. A more complex electrical fishing device is shown in Nishi et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,806. This patent discloses an automatic fishing device which detects a fish on the line and rotates the reel automatically to pull in the fish.
It has been found that the sensitivity adjustments and triggering mechanisms on mechanical devices frequently become inaccurate and non-reproduceable over a period of time. Normal corrosion and exposure of the metal parts to sea water will cause the spring catches and trigger mechanisms to stick or to require a much stronger pull on the line for actuation, thereby resulting in the loss of some catches. In addition, most of the devices of the prior art are adjustable only within a small range of tension, and are not useful for both light fresh-water rods and heavy salt-water rods.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an automatic fish hooking apparatus having an electrically actuated trigger mechanism with a finely adjustable release tension. It is another object of the invention to provide a fishing apparatus which is adjustable over a wide range to accommodate very light fishing poles and very sturdy poles, without losing sensitivity or accuracy. It is another object of the invention to provide a fishing apparatus which can be easily calibrated and adjusted after cocking, so that the user can determine the precise pull on the fishing line which will trigger the apparatus without retracting the fishing pole. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent and are accomplished by the apparatus of the invention, a specific embodiment of which is described herein.